Nicodemous (Nico) is a student at Queensmouth Academy along with his three brothers -- Nero, Nolan (twin), and Newt. There he is studying the occult and the arcane along with the classics.
Personality
While his twin might be quick to anger, it takes longer to get a rise out of Nico and he appears more even tempered. His nearly identical twin, Nolan, is his balance, with a fire affinity. The two share a deep bond that is as magical as it is genetic, that allows them to share their experiences with one another, communicate, and sense when the other is in danger. While his twin struggles with his family's expectations, Nico strives to live up to them. It's not that he doesn't share his brother's passion for the arts, and there are times that he wishes he could stop studying and go have fun, but his fear of disappointing his parents stops him from doing so. To strangers he may come off as aloof and anti-social, but when he is home with his family he is a more agreeable person.
Background
Nicodemus Octavian Xanthos was born the third of four sons, legacies of a long line of mages with a strong sense of familial loyalty and tradition. When they were young, each of the Xanthos children showed an affinity for a particular type of elemental magic which they continued to study and develop as they got older. Nicodemus' element was water, and it seemed to suit him. He grew up with an endless need to please his parents, and it's led him to become a perfectionist in all that he does. Traditional and affluent, his parents had very definite ideas of what their boys should grow up to be. Occasionally that pressure has caused him to snap and he takes a turn for destruction. He does love his studies at Queensmouth, and is a good student with an avid interest in classical education -- language, history, art, science, literature, philosophy, and critical thinking. He wants to expand his knowledge of the arcane and expand his powers even further. He looks up to his brother Nero, and all he has been able to accomplish and hopes to be as powerful as he is one day.
SKILLS
Athletics - Competent Level
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Running, jumping, climbing, sports. Nicodemus is constantly training in some physical activity and is very athletic.
While not as great in the kitchen as his eldest brother Nero, Nicodemus likes to help out in the kitchen and he enjoys the exact science that comes with baking.
Dancing - Competent Level
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Forced to take lessons in his youth Nicodemus is trained in ballet, tap, swing, jazz, and modern techniques, he is an excellent dancer when he can be bothered to perform.
Knowledge - Competent Level
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Nicodemus has received a classical education at Queensmouth Prep and now at Queensmouth Academy, which focuses on history, literature, logic, sciences, and philosophy. He excels at his studies and diligently works to improve them as far as he can.
Occultism - Competent Level
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As a student of Queensmouth Academy, Nicodemus has studied the arcane, occult practices, ritualism, mythologies, spiritualism, divination, and general knowledge of the supernatural world. Nicodemus excels at ritual based magic, anything he can sit and perfect.
Ranged Weapons - Novice Level
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Nicodemus lets his brothers get up close and personal in battle as he would much rather stay out of harms way and view the battlefield with an advantage. He favors bows and crossbows but has dabbled in firearms.
Music was encouraged as Nicodemus grew up, but he could not find an instrument that suited him, instead he found his voice was good enough to keep his parents content.
Swimming - Competent Level
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Nicodemus' affinity for water drew him to it at an early age. He swims competitively but also enjoys just being in the water and relaxing.
ABILITIES
Magic: Empath - Enhanced Level
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Nicodemus is able to read other people's emotions, especially if they are intense. He can pick up on more subtle emotions with concentration, and with greater focus, the emotions that others are trying to hide. The greater his focus and concentration, the more depth and specificity about the feelings he can sense is available to him.
Magic: Enchantment - Enhanced Level
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Nicodemus has the ability to manipulate the emotions of others which might sway an audience to be moved to tears, to soothe another's pain, to allow more restful sleep, to calm a brewing argument, or stoke another's rage. With more powerful spells, he can compel others, manipulating them toward a desired end. He is also able to create charms, which he can give to others. These are items imbued with the magic he can cast, enabling the bearer to benefit from effects imbued in the charms.
Magic: Illusions - Basic Level
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Nicodemus has studied illusions but not to the degree his brother has. His illusions are minor, and mostly used to change his appearance when he's feeling less than perfect, or he wants to fool people by looking like his twin.
Magic: Shadow Magic - Supreme Level
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The while the majority of the plan is covered in water, the depths of the ocean is shrouded in darkness. Nicodemus, being the calmer twin, has always found comfort within the shadows. From a young age he was able to pull at the dark corners of his room to grow and pull the shadows around him, hiding himself from view. As his powers grew, he learned how to harden the shadows around him to protect himself from harm, and to shape it into whips to defend himself. In a dim lighting, he can coax the shadows to darken the area. He is also able to travel between shadows, but he has to see where he is going. The exception being a place he knows well, like his own home, or the academy. He is able to travel with everything on his person, but the only person who can travel with him is his twin. His shadows are weakened and destroyed by intense light.
Innate: Twin Link - Enhanced Level
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Nicodemus and Nolan share a twin link, a bond that allows them to innately sense when the other is in danger, to know what the other is feeling, and to be able to communicate telepathically with one another, sharing thoughts, flashes of images, and even sensation over long distances.
Magic: Water - Supreme Level
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Nicodemus has extensive abilities to manipulate water and ice. He is able to control and shape water into controlled blasts or spheres and is able to affect water from the size of a glass to a small lake. Over the years he has learned how to slow down the molecules in water to cause it to freeze, larger bodies of water are harder for him to completely freeze over, but a small pond or the water on wet pavement is easy for him to freeze over. He is able to pull water molecules from the air to create ice, but the effect is not as strong as if he has a source to pull from. The power helps him to stay underwater for long periods of time. He favors ice when in battle, creating frozen shards or blades of various sizes to attack with. Even though they are made from magic his ice and water powers are easily melted by heat.
ADVANTAGES
Nicodemus loves to read, and does not like to be without his books, so for his birthday Nero created a backpack to carry them all without the burden of the weight on his shoulders. He is only able to put items that naturally fit into the bag, but he is able to retrieve anything he's put into it on command.
Nicodemus was given a fine, well-made bow. The bow itself does not have any magical properties, but it is well made and suited for his frame. It is also collapsible and can be quickly broken down small enough to fit into his backpack.
Nicodemus owns all the equipment needed for his ritual work and spell casting and is rarely without them. He also has a signet ring that he uses as a focus for his spells.
Nicodemus comes from a long line of traditional mages. They have a lot of expectations that they place on their children, the legacies to that line. But, at the same time, they also provide a support structure that makes sure that the boys want for very little. A home, a safe place to go, an education, an allowance, and a healthy trust fund are just a few of the benefits of being a Xanthos.
WEAKNESSES
There are times when Nicodemus becomes overwhelmed with the burden of perfection and acts out in one way or the other. While he is normally the well mannered twin, there are limits that he likes to push when he needs to be impulsive or destructive.
There are a lot of familial expectations placed on Nicodemus. He comes from a long line of mages and his parents have aspirations for their children. There is a constant pressure to live up to them.
Nicodemus's magic is powered by his will. Casting small to medium spells and minor to moderate effects can be done with relative ease and maintained for some time, however, the more powerful a spell, the larger, and the longer its duration if it must be maintained, or if it is a permanent spell that takes a great deal of energy -- will cause him to become depleted, weak, and exhausted, requiring a full eight hours of rest before he can cast again. Truly supreme level spells can knock him out for a full 24 hours.
Nicodemus suffers the pressure of being the perfect child. Everything he has is neat and tidy and he will re-write a paper several times if he doesn't feel it's right. This has occasionally caused an assignment to be turned in late, or lack of sleep from not getting it just right. It ties in with having a fear of failure.
While Nicodemus is easily annoyed by his brothers and his twin, he does not like to spend time apart from them. He'll go on weekend and day trips, but he does not like the idea of having to be apart from them at all and gets antsy when he hasn't spoken to at least one of them throughout the day.
